Q. Why is this in news? The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under open market operations (OMOs) for Rs 10,000 crore each on January 7. The decision was taken after a review of current liquidity and financial conditions, the RBI said in a statement. Q. What are Open Market Operations? Open market operations are the sale and purchase of government sec... Read More...
Q. What are Gram Nyayalayas? Gram Nyayalayas are established under the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 for speedy and easy access to justice system in the rural areas of India . The Law Commission of India in its 114th report recommended the establishment of Gram Nyayalayas for providing speedy, substantial and inexpensive justice. Subsequently, the Parliament of India passed the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 providing for its establishment. Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? Gram Sabhas will have more power in the management of community forest rights (CFR) and habitat rights, according to new guidelines drafted by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) in December 2020. An increased representation of various user groups such as the graziers, minor forest produce collectors, women and other groups dependent on forest including hamlets also find mention in the two drafts. The drafts were prepared by the two committees formed by MoTA in February 2020 Read More...
Q. Why in News? Recently, the National Water Mission (NWM), Ministry of Jal Shakti in collaboration with Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports have launched the ‘Catch the Rain’ Awareness Generation Campaign. Q. What are its aims? To nudge all stake-holders to create Rain Water Harvesting Struc... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. Andhra Pradesh last year become the first state in the country to introduce reservation in the private sector. Besides Andhra Pradesh, there is a law in Maharashtra that if any industry that gets an incentive from the State Government, then 70% of people at a particular level (basically unskilled workers of that industry) have to be locals. Recently, Haryana Assembly has passed the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bil... Read More...
Q. What is the news? Good Governance Day is observed in India annually on the 25th December, the birth anniversary of former-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Good Governance Day was established in 2014 to honor Prime Minister Vajpayee by fostering awareness among the Indian people of accountability in government. The aim is to create awareness of accountability in government among the citizens of India. Q. What is Governan... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had cautioned individuals and small businesses against falling victim to the mushrooming unauthorised digital lending platforms and mobile applications on promises of getting loans in quick and hassle-free manner , all this in the backdrop of as recently , a woman employee of Telangana Agriculture Department and a software engineer committed suicide after they were humiliated and blackmailed by tele-callers and recove... Read More...
Q. What is the news? Recently , a woman employee of Telangana Agriculture Department and a software engineer committed suicide after they were humiliated and blackmailed by tele-callers and recovery agents of a mobile app instant loan company. Their personal details were posted by the company on social media and labelled them defaulters and used abusive language. Q. What is the instant loan apps case? Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? The Tamil Nadu government has revently permitted jallikattu to be held across the State during the coming Pongal season. However, the bull-taming sport , jallikattu would be now subject to fresh restrictions in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. This time not more than 300 bull tamers would be allowed to take part in a jallikattu, ‘manjuvirattu’ or ‘vadamadu’ event. All the spectators would have to undergo thermal screening before entering the venue. To ensure adher... Read More...
Q. What is Article 131 or Original jurisdiction? The Supreme Court possesses Original jurisdiction enshrined in Article 131 of Constitution to decide the disputes arising between different units of the Indian Federation like: (a) between the Government of India and one or more States; or (b) between the Government of India and any State or States on one side and one or more other States on the other; or (c) between two or more States, if and in so ... Read More...
Q. Why in News? Recently , government and the World Bank has signed a $500 million project for implementation of the Green National Highways Corridor Project. Read More...
Q. What is the news ? The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is supposed to launch municipal bonds in January 2021 , and it will become the third Urban Local Body (ULB) in Gujarat to use Municipal bonds to raise money to fund development work sanctioned under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). It has sought approval for the same from the state government. Q. How was the earlier Ahmedabad experience? Ahmedabad was ... Read More...
Q. What does start of gas production in KGD6 means for India? Reliance Industries Ltd and BP (British Petroleum) have announced the start of gas production from the R cluster, the deepest off-shore gas field in Asia. The field is the first of three deep-water gas projects in the KGD6 block jointly developed by RIL and BP to come onstream. RIL has a participating interest of 66.7% in the KG-D6 block and BP has a participating interest of 33.3% in the block. Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will soon come up with a policy which is aimed at promoting 3D printing on an industrial scale and helping domestic companies “overcome technical and economic barriers” so that they can build supportive and ancillary facilities for world leaders in the technology, such as the US and China. The policy will help develop a “conducive ecosystem for design, development and deployment” of 3D printing and additive manufacturing. Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis could be visible in regions such as in the northern parts of Illinois and Pennsylvania in the US. Q. What is Aurora, why does it occur? Auroras occur when charged particles ejected from the Sun’s surface — called the solar wind — enter the Earth’s atmosphere. While flowing toward Earth, the fast-moving solar wind carries with it the Sun’s magnetic field, which disr... Read More...
Q. What is this news? Two lawsuits filed by the United States federal government and governments of 48 US states and territories have put under the scanner the acquisition by Facebook of Instagram and WhatsApp – and therefore, the present structure of the giant social media company. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s lawsuit accused Facebook of eliminating competition with the acquisitions — even though the FTC itself had approved the deals. Facebook has called the lawsuits ... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? The cyber wing of the Maharashtra Police recently acquired a software from Interpol that would help them track down child pornography uploaded online. The software also has in-built algorithms to look for keywords around child pornography that would for example help law enforcement agencies track forums that indulge in these crimes. Q. What is the new software that is used by Interpol to act against child pornography online? Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? The Himachal Pradesh government is trying to obtain GIs (Geographical Indication) for five products from the state – Karsog Kulth, Thangi of Pangi, Chamba Metal Crafts, Chamba Chukh, and Rajmah of Bharmour. Q. What is a Geographical Indication? The World Intellectual Property Organisation defines a GI as “a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin”. Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? Last week, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court reopened the legal debate on sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for reservations, referring the issue to a larger Bench to decide. While this concerns SCs and STs, a Commission has been examining sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes (OBC) for almost three years now. Q. What is sub-categorisation of OBCs? OBCs are granted 27% reservation in jobs and educatio... Read More...
Q. What is this in news? With retail inflation remaining elevated, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India, has decided to keep the policy rates unchanged for the third time in a row in the bi-monthly monetary policy announced on Friday This effectively means lending rates in the banking system and EMIs on home, auto and personal loans will remain more or less steady. Q. What are the current policy rates? Read More...